THE African Union (AU) will begin regional youth consultations on Wednesday to engage youths across the continent in the fight against corruption.

A statement by the AU made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday said the consultations is anchored by the African Governance Architecture (AGA) Platform under the theme “Leveraging Youth Capacities for the Fight Against Corruption in Africa”.

“The first leg of the consultation which will take place in Gaborone, Botswana from August 15-17, 2018 is aimed at garnering youth perspectives and role in transparency and accountability on the AU theme of the year “Winning the Fight Against Corruption: A Sustainable Path to Africa’s Transformation”.

“Subsequent consultations are slated to take place later in the year in Dakar, Senegal (West & Central Africa) and Casablanca, Morocco (North Africa), respectively.

“The meeting is also poised to offer opportunities to build the capacity of youth oriented and focused organizations/networks towards enhanced involvement of young people in fighting corruption in Africa.

“Corruption, a global phenomenon, continues to be at the heart of governance deficits in Africa. Without a doubt, it is a daunting challenge to good governance, sustainable economic growth, peace, stability, and development in Africa.

“Corruption continues to negatively hamper efforts aimed at promoting democratic governance, socioeconomic transformation, peace and security in AU Member States.”

It quoted the Report of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, popularly known as the Mbeki Report, which stated that Africa loses over 50 billion US dollars every year through illicit financial flows.

“This huge drain on the resources continues to negatively impact on developmental efforts of the continent.

“If sustainable efforts are not put in place to address this challenge among other elements of corruption, attaining the goals of Agenda 2063 – Africa’s 50-year development blueprint – as well as the Global Sustainable Development Goals may be slow to achieve.

“They will focus on leveraging and reinforcing young people’s insights, capacities, and initiatives for preventing and fighting corruption in Africa.

“The aim is to identify, support, strengthen and amplify youth perspectives on the sustainable fight against corruption.”

NAN reports that speakers expected at the 2018 consultations, include; Dr. Keith Jennings – Regional Director, National Democratic Institute, Dr. Hartmut Krebs – Head of Programme, GIZ/African Governance Architecture Support Programme, Ms. Prudence Ngwenya – Head, AU Youth Division, Elisabeth Gnansounou FOURN – Rapporteur, African Union Advisory Board on Corruption.

Nigeria’s entertainer Idibia Innocent Ujah popularly known as 2Baba will also be among other dignitaries from across Africa.

“The consultation will also help participants enhance involvement in building a culture of personal integrity, transparency, and accountability in Africa; in addition to facilitating inter regional exchanges and lessons learning.”

The overall target is to “kick start a revolutionary movement especially among African youths to fight against corruption,” the statement added.

It said that the youth can follow the conversation on social media platforms withe the hashtag #DGTrends and #AfricaAgainstCorruption. (NAN)

– Aug. 14, 2018 @ 18:23 GMT |